Travelling to Europe Summer 2021 - Tips, Advice, Experiences

[Ethan_Abraham]

Not all tests are acceptable for entry requirements.

You can also just buy Covid tests from a drugstore.

Yes but you can test yourself at home in the weeks before to avoid a surprise positive test.

Horror story I heard on a travel board. Someone taking a long weekend to turks, vaxed, they did PCR a few days before for travel, all good. Did a rapid day before leaving just to be sure. They did PCR day after arrival in Turks for the return flight home and tested positive. Had to pay for PJ home (or could have stayed in quarantine for 14 days in Turks…). So must have been exposed right before leaving. Never got any symptoms and I recall they said rapid tests taken after all came back negative…so must have had a few spores sitting around their nose from an exposure somewhere.

[MChang]

Yes but you can test yourself at home in the weeks before to avoid a surprise positive test.

Horror story I heard on a travel board. Someone taking a long weekend to turks, vaxed, they did PCR a few days before for travel, all good. Did a rapid day before leaving just to be sure. They did PCR day after arrival in Turks for the return flight home and tested positive. Had to pay for PJ home (or could have stayed in quarantine for 14 days in Turks…). So must have been exposed right before leaving. Never got any symptoms and I recall they said rapid tests taken after all came back negative…so must have had a few spores sitting around their nose from an exposure somewhere.

Could also just be false positive pcr

[JackW_e_i_s_s_b_e_r_g]

We are hopefully heading to Italy in early August. I think things like entry and exit requirements will change between now and then, but is great to see this discussion with current strategies and reports. Thanks to you all for contributing!! Making restaurant reservations now, fingers and everything thing else crossed…

[doug_johnson]

Jeez, all this discussion makes me glad to be going to Santa Fe for first air trip since 3/20. The US is a big country and I haven’t seen lots of it!!

[Andrew_M1]

Have Lisbon/Porto planned for July and Barcelona/Rioja/Madrid in August. Will report back…

[M.Kaplan]

Just reached out to Parisian friends and acquaintances to start an apartment hunt for Sept-Oct. Ordinarily we would have booked at the end of 2020 for fall 2021, so I don’t know yet whether any of the apartments we like will be available. I hope France’s reopening is successful and that everything opens back up soon.

Will report back when I have any info that may be if use.

[Barry_L_i_p_t_o_n]

Have Lisbon/Porto planned for July and Barcelona/Rioja/Madrid in August. Will report back…

Hopefully not via London.

They (UK) now require quarantine when returning from Portugal (or will be effective soon).

I have a September London/Paris/Vienna trip. Glad I have a backup return to make it an all I’m trip if I need to.

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

Spain officially confirmed it is open to vaccinated tourists as of today (there were some contradictory messages before) and I believe they have reduced the negative test requirements for risk countries to antigen rather than PCR, which is terrific news.

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

FWIW, several writers confirmed that if Americans have a vaccine certificate they do NOT need a negative test of any kind before entering Spain.

That possibility was suggested here and there in various articles prior to the first open day of June 7, but now it seems to be corroborated. I’d personally err on the side of caution and get an antigen test it’s made clear somewhere official.

[Robert_Dentice]

FWIW, several writers confirmed that if Americans have a vaccine certificate they do NOT need a negative test of any kind before entering Spain.

That possibility was suggested here and there in various articles prior to the first open day of June 7, but now it seems to be corroborated. I’d personally err on the side of caution and get an antigen test it’s made clear somewhere official.

I would not take the chance. I called the Delta 360 desk and they told me they don’t know when they will stop requiring PCR tests for France and advised me to just get the test. So even if the country you are going to does not require it the airline might.

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

FWIW, several writers confirmed that if Americans have a vaccine certificate they do NOT need a negative test of any kind before entering Spain.

That possibility was suggested here and there in various articles prior to the first open day of June 7, but now it seems to be corroborated. I’d personally err on the side of caution and get an antigen test it’s made clear somewhere official.

I would not take the chance. I called the Delta 360 desk and they told me they don’t know when they will stop requiring PCR tests for France and advised me to just get the test. So even if the country you are going to does not require it the airline might.

We’ll see what develops between now and then. A few weeks is a long time. We could get a lot more clarity but, until we do, like I said, I will err on the side of caution. That said, Spain at least clear about the change to antigen versus PCR.

[AstridKG]

We will be going to Switzerland this summer. A negative PCR test is needed, and it must be done 72 hours prior to the flight departure. A negative test (viral, can be rapid) will be required to return, and that one is max 3 days before departure from Switzerland.

[patrick_c_albright]

We will be going to Switzerland this summer. A negative PCR test is needed, and it must be done 72 hours prior to the flight departure. A negative test (viral, can be rapid) will be required to return, and that one is max 3 days before departure from Switzerland.

I have been waiting for news on Switzerland - when did this change?

[K_N_Haque]

The State Dept page you linked to includes a link to the US Embassy’s web site which is very detailed on the requirements. The issue we have is we’re not actually visiting/entering Germany. We’re simply transiting in FRA from one non-Schengen country to another. The State Dept guidance and German requirements don’t apply in our case. However, we’ve heard that sometimes the airlines are enforcing the testing requirements as if all passengers were entering Germany and not staying airside to get to their next flight. It’s not clear how consistently the airlines (or the gate agents) are enforcing that requirement, but we’re getting tested just so it’s not a problem when we check in and board.

Scott, Lufthansa has info on their website addressing this situation: https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/entry-requirements

[M.Kaplan]

David Lebovitz published the following today on his blog.

France Reopens to Americans (and others) June 9th

Lots of good information. Here is but a snippet:

“ France announced a “color system” in which your requirements for entry will depend on what country you are from. There are three color groups; Red, Orange, and Green (more here and here) but for the Orange group, which includes North Americans, if you are fully vaccinated, you can come to France. If you aren’t fully vaccinated, you must have a compelling reason to come, and the requirements are stricter, plus you’ll need to quarantine for 7 days and have a PCR test after arrival.”

[Barry_L_i_p_t_o_n]

A little more details from the article
“Proof of vaccination (currently only the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are accepted). Travelers must also be fully vaccinated, which occurs two weeks after the second dose of Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca, and four weeks after the single dose of Johnson & Johnson; AND Either a negative COVID PCR test conducted within the 72 hours prior to departure or a negative COVID antigen test performed within the 48 hours prior to departure.”

I’m worried that for my 9/5 Europe trip (London, Paris, Krakow, Vienna), I’ll need negative tests for London, and then another for Paris (and perhaps even Vienna, it’s unclear what happens once you are in the EU).

I’m hopefull that it ends, my back up is 2-3 weeks in Britain.

[Scott_Brunson]

We decided to wait until next summer

[theocorrel]

Mark - Thank you. Very helpful. I am scheduled to fly to Frankfurt & go to Paris this Sunday (w/ an EU passport). Can’t wait! The number of new terraces that have opened in Paris is incredible! (The roof of the Crillon??!)

[theocorrel]

Ok, arrived in Frankfurt, en route to Paris. Took a nonstop Lufthansa flight Seattle - Frankfurt. Everything worked like clockwork, with no problems at all. Differences from pre-Covid/“normal” flights - 1/ you have to register in advance with the German government & have proof of having done it at the check-in (they will not issue a boarding pass w/out it), 2/ at the checkin for the flight they inspected my proof of vaccination very carefully. At least one guy was turned away from the flight for not having proper documentation. 3/ they required n/kn-95 or surgical masks to board (no cloth ones, etc). (Several people were denied boarding on this basis, but Lufthansa had approved masks at the gate they would give you, if you needed one.) 4/ strict with covid rules on the plane - but the plane was 60-70% empty & a wonderful flight. 5/ they inspected the proof of vaccine very carefully at Frankfurt passport control, but once the guy was satisfied, entry was granted with no quarantine whatsoever. 6/ international arrivals was a complete ghost town - fantastic for a traveler. 7/. Everyone is masked up here on the trains, at the airport/train stations, etc - made me feel good. 8/ surprisingly (at least to me), hotel required proof of vaccination or negative test or they would not have allowed entry - very serious. But of course I had it to get in the country in the first place. If you’re properly prepared, the travel itself was wonderful - like flying 40+ years ago. In Paris I heard it’s very, very hard to get good restaurant reservations on the terrasses - so we have everything booked in advance (did it about 14-21 days ago without problem.). Excited to finally be back (& vaccinated)!

[ClarkstonMark]

Ok, arrived in Frankfurt, en route to Paris. Took a nonstop Lufthansa flight Seattle - Frankfurt. Everything worked like clockwork, with no problems at all. Differences from pre-Covid/“normal” flights - 1/ you have to register in advance with the German government & have proof of having done it at the check-in (they will not issue a boarding pass w/out it), 2/ at the checkin for the flight they inspected my proof of vaccination very carefully. At least one guy was turned away from the flight for not having proper documentation. 3/ they required n/kn-95 or surgical masks to board (no cloth ones, etc). (Several people were denied boarding on this basis, but Lufthansa had approved masks at the gate they would give you, if you needed one.) 4/ strict with covid rules on the plane - but the plane was 60-70% empty & a wonderful flight. 5/ they inspected the proof of vaccine very carefully at Frankfurt passport control, but once the guy was satisfied, entry was granted with no quarantine whatsoever. 6/ international arrivals was a complete ghost town - fantastic for a traveler. 7/. Everyone is masked up here on the trains, at the airport/train stations, etc - made me feel good. 8/ surprisingly (at least to me), hotel required proof of vaccination or negative test or they would not have allowed entry - very serious. But of course I had it to get in the country in the first place. If you’re properly prepared, the travel itself was wonderful - like flying 40+ years ago. In Paris I heard it’s very, very hard to get good restaurant reservations on the terrasses - so we have everything booked in advance (did it about 14-21 days ago without problem.). Excited to finally be back (& vaccinated)!

great report …thank you